Soybean maturity?

[RKenney]

This might be a dumb question, but do deer eat the actual beans
if the plant is able to mature? I know deer love the plant part,
but what about the "beans". I guess a hypothetical question would
be...what if there was a deer proof fence aroud 5 acres of prime
soybeans that reached maturity. Then, in the fall, the fence was
taken down. After a good frost the plant was dead, but there were
many bean pods left on the plant.

Would the deer eat the beans? I know soybeans are loaded with
protien, but I have never heard if deer will eat the actual
"bean".

Sorry for a dumb question, but I really don't know the answer.

 

[BSK]

Yes, they will eat the beans in winter, but soybean beans themselves are not highly preferred. Managers who feed pure soybean beans in their feeders generally have to add corn to get the deer to eat the beans.